My Identity, Shrouded in Fear
by GingerlyHibiki
Summary: This little girl, Hikaru, might not be who she says she is. With Ranma gone, Akane is a little suspicious about her...
1. Prologue

Hello...

Please try to enjoy...this is my first story!

-Hibiki

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My Identity, Shrouded in Fear

Prolouge

The Tendo household was very quiet. Knowing the circumstances of this family, it was too quiet. Soun Tendo, the head of the house, decided to take a little stroll around the house to see what everyone was up to.

Kasumi was preparing dinner in the kitchen, as usual for her, but she was quiet. She had on a smug look, confusing Soun. Usually Kasumi was so cheerful, and was always humming while she cooked. Even when times were hard, she was always smiling. So, this was odd behavior. Kasumi depressed is like the world ending. She was a naturally oblivious child, but she could not ignore this problem, and smile through it. Nabiki was taking Kuno's money as usual, but she was a little off about it as well. Her sarcastic tone was gone, and she hasn't said "Kuno-Baby" yet, just Kuno. She lacked the usual pep, and she didn't find it as fun nowadays. Feeling quite disturbed by this, he went to check on Akane, who, undoubtedly, was sulking in her room.

Whenever Akane actually left her room, it was for food or school. When it was for food, she would grab her meal, and eat it upstairs. For school, she just walked out the door. She stopped using the dojo, and stopped practicing the 'Anything Goes' style anymore. It was just painful for her. She doesn't talk any more either, you have to guess what she's thinking, but, only Kasumi could do that. For most of the time, though, everyone knows what she's thinking.

'Ranma'

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Ukyo, owner of Okonomiyaki Ucchan's, started to set up shop for the morning. Business has been slow, maybe her regulars were depressed too. Maybe they wanted her to cheer up before coming back. Her okonomiyaki was only half as good when she was sad. She was in a depressed state, but nothing compared to Akane. She knew she had lost, but that didn't stop her from grieving. They were best friends, two peas in a pod. Who wouldn't be depressed? Konatsu, her loyal worker, started to heat up the grills, hoping he wouldn't mess it up. The grill did burst into flames, but only because he wasn't watching the grill. He was watching her.

He kept his eyes on her graceful figure, cloaked in sadness. Her eyes, they looked lonely, as if she'll never find happiness again. She **was** lonely, but she wouldn't let Konatsu comfort her. This disturbed him. She was in pain, but she didn't want his help, and he couldn't force it on her. He didn't want to pity her, but that was all he could do. He felt virtually helpless. Most nights, even clear ones, it would rain. Absolutely pouring. All he could do was read her thoughts, sit outside her door, and listen to the rain. There was only one thought, though. She only thinks of one thing.

'Ranma'

* * *

Everyone else though, they were thinking,

'Where is he? That Ranma.'

No one has seen him since the incident with Phoenix Mountain. He just up and left. So naturally, all the fiancées are devastated. Genma tried to find him, to no avail. So, he was pronounced dead. Akane couldn't even make it to the funeral, or out of her room. Ukyo managed to get there, but she couldn't take it. She had to leave halfway through. Making it harder on the girls, we've only seen Shampoo move on, for the most part. She went back to China with Colonge, leaving the Cat Café to Mousse. So, naturally, business has been slow. Mousse has taken this harder than you would've thought. He didn't have anyone to fight. No enemies. There was always Ryoga, but he hasn't been seen in a while. Kodachi, well, she almost murdered Sasuke for telling her the news. She's locked in a mental institution now, thank the heavens. Even Tachi felt a pang of sorrow. Like Mousse, no enemies to fight. No one to win over. The Nerima has sadly been reduced to a quiet neighborhood, with the 'wrecking crew' disbanded. Even the police couldn't find Ranma, because maybe he doesn't want to be found.

But why would he want that?


	2. Good For Her

Thank you for actually reading my story!

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My Identity, Shrouded in Fear

Chapter 1:

Good For Her

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Today was a quiet day. Ono, the local chiropractor, was just opening up his little office for the day. He never had any visitors, well, except for the elderly and Ranma, and Akane was always with him. She always felt bad, because she was always the cause of his injuries, other than the Moxibustion Incident. Kasumi sometimes came by, and that's when things got bad. He'd dance around like a fool. But, Kasumi came by more often nowadays, and he seemed to keep a cool head, for the most part. He'd dance around only for a few minutes now. But, the matter is _why_ Kasumi kept visiting. Was she bored, now that Ranma was gone? Or, did she want to be better friends with him? His glasses shone pure white at that thought. These questions, only to be left unanswered, kept popping up in his head. The only question that _couldn't_ be answered, though, was still on everyone's mind.

'Where is Ranma Saotome'

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Akane, depressed as usual, just got word that her class would be taking a trip to Tokyo Tower that following week. Of all times she decided to pay attention in class. She hated class trips with a burning passion of a thousand suns. They just bothered her to no end.

"Oh my, what fun! You really should go. It'd be great!" Kasumi replied as soon as she read her mind. Akane knew exactly what she was going to say, but she told her anyway. Over dinner, Kasumi decided to tell everyone, being oblivious to Akane at the moment. "Might as well go. Better than school, in my opinion." Nabiki's answer, with a hint of sarcasm coming back to her voice. That was good, that meant she was getting back to her sneaky, sarcastic ways, even after losing her most gullible customer. Anyways, she still had Kuno, 2nd in the Most Gullible have the same answer, that she should go. 'Fine.' She thought, with her pouty face put on. Today, she showed an emotion. Maybe she'll open up a little more if she went on this trip. She could recover, and eventually forget Ranma. That was asking for a lot, but, it could be done.

They all thought this was good for her.

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A week passed by like a hour. Like they say, time flies when you're(not really)having fun. Here she was, standing at Tokyo Tower, which was particularly crowded that day, much to her discontent. She very much dislike crowds. In crowds, people showed less consideration to others. She just wanted to go home and cry, locked in her room, when someone knocked into her. This is what she meant. No respect for anyone. Then again, she was standing in the middle if the platform, doing absolutely nothing whatsoever.

"Oh, goodness me. I am so very sorry, miss." Said a caring, yet apologetic voice, and Akane was to find that it belonged to a beautiful young girl. Not what she expected, a sincere apology. You can tell by the tone in her voice. Astonished, Akane took a nice look at this girl. She was maybe 5'1", and had curly blonde hair, reaching just past her chin. She seemed foreign, but she was obviously Japanese. She wore glasses, and a green uniform, signifying that she was from an elite school. "No, it's fine, I was in the way." Akane muttered, just loud enough for this girl to hear.

"You see, I just wanted to give that girl over there some money, because she was having so much fun, and I ran into you without looking." She gestured towards a girl, possibly have way too much fun on the binoculars.

"I was just standing here, wishing I wasn't."

"Oh? Well, that's too bad. Try to have a nice day, miss!"

There she went, almost skipping over to the girl with long...red...hair...

...in a pigtail.

A sense of déjà vu swept over her, and before she could get to this girl, to look at her face, there was a light, and a voice, saying...

"Please save our world, legendary Magic Knights!" The floor seemed to melt, drowning her. Of all times she wished she could swim. Another reason to hate class trips. She can't swim.

Then she was gone.


	3. Within The Eyes Of The Beholder

Thank you for the reviews!

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My Identity, Shrouded In Fear

Chapter 2:

Within The Eyes Of The Beholder

Akane was falling.

Not as much as trip-and-fall kind of falling, as no-ground kind of falling. She wasn't drowning?!

There was no floor. It was just gone, as if it melted away, into a parallel world. She knew she was NOT in Tokyo. I mean, there were mountains in the SKY, for goodness sakes! To her instant relief, she fell on to the ground, not the water. But, she was not alone. A gigantic flying fish, of all things, dropped three other girls next to her. She recognize two of them. One was the girl who knocked into her, and the other...

...was the girl with the braid.

She got a good look about this girl, and felt like she knew her. There's no way, though, she wasn't Ranma. Her aura was much different. She looked weaker, and had no skill, other than being annoying. Even under these circumstances, she still wanted to know her name.

The last girl she didn't know. She had blue hair, much like herself, but at a lighter shade. She was tall and lean, looked quite fast. Her inner martial artist was judging people based on their physical stature. She needed to stop doing that, she quit martial arts. No more for her. The girl, on the other hand, was freaking out. There were no Häagen Dazs here! And here Akane thought that the redhead would be the annoying one!

When she was screaming about what to do, the girl with the blonde hair spoke up. In her quiet voice, she stated "We should introduce ourselves."

The blue-haired one, however, did not agree with this statement, but everyone else agreed, so she went along with it.

"Fine. I'm Umi Ryuuzaki. I'm fourteen and in the eighth grade."

Next, the blonde one."I'm Fuu Hououji. I'm also fourteen, and it's a pleasure to meet all of you."

Finally, the suspicious one with the braid."I'm Hikaru Shidou! I'm fourteen too!" Everyone, excluding Akane, fell from the shock of her age. "What?!"

"I'm very sorry, I thought you were in grade school!" Fuu apologized. "Me too!" Added Umi.

After that misunderstanding, the three of them turned to Akane. "Who are you?" Umi asked quite rudely...

"Akane Tendo." This is the first time she has spoken since he left. She was quite surprised at herself. she wouldn't even answer to her own father, or Kasumi.

"What grade are you in? How about your age?" Umi inquired, not losing that annoying touch.

"I'm seventeen and going into eleventh grade."

"Wow! You're old!" Again, another immensely rude comment from Umi, annoying the living day lights out of Akane.

"Thank you." Akane was really putting a lot of effort holding back this one. She should get an award for this.

This 'Umi' looked fuming right about now, and just as she was going to respond, a little kid came out of the forest. Or, at least what LOOKED like a kid. The strange thing, though, he was holding a staff. It was hard to explain, it was shaped almost like an animal. He had hair of the lightest shade of Lavender imaginable. He wore all white, Akane now began to believe she was , he spoke.

"Hello, legendary Magic Knights." This little kid kept going on about how the other three had to save the princess from some evil guy, or something like that. Akane did not care, this little man didn't consider she was even there. Since the conversation seemed to leave her out, Akane didn't really listen. At least until Hikaru spoke.

"I'll do it. It's a martial artist's duty to defend the weak."

That is exactly what Ranma would've said in a situation like this, if he agreed to help. Akane was a little more intrigued in the conversation. She listened in, while this kid, Clef, gave the other girls magic. She felt like it was all about them. 'Sure, they're special, but why don't you acknowledge me?' She questioned herself, but it would be answered.

"What about me?" A quiet voice escaped her lips. "Who are you? A villager?" This 'Clef' questioned.

"No. I came with them."

"Really? Well, this is a problem..."

"How? Am I not worthy to at least help in the cause?" Akane was starting to get annoyed with everyone today. Execpt for Fuu. She seemed to like her.

"It's just tha-"

Before he could finish, a woman appeared. Akane kind of zoned out during the conversation, because, well, wasn't directed toward her. No surprise,she isn't a dang 'Magic Knight'.Then Clef shoved the others onto a gigantic bird-griffin thing that he summoned, of course, forgetting she was there. At that same time, another man seemed to show up. He came in with a 'bang' (ha ha), as lightning seemed to shoot out of nowhere. Of course, this guy cannot aim. He was aiming for the kid.

Akane felt a pain she has never felt before. It was as if her body was speeding up too much, the slowing down over and over again. 'I bet Ranma could deal with this, but I am not as strong as him. Ranma...'

Her last thoughts before blacking out.


End file.
